Chapter 175 – Entering the Tower: Assessment Begins!

Generally speaking, an individual’s capabilities are limited.

Although this is a world where great power resides within oneself, Mu Lin is a prodigy, and his own disciples are also prodigies.

Due to his confidence—or rather, arrogance—in his own disciples, the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy did not believe that Mu Lin alone could influence the Dao Palace.

Therefore, he had no intention of specifically recruiting him, nor did he place the hope of crushing the Foreign Races on Mu Lin.

He simply followed the usual practice, letting his own disciples handle everything.

It was under these circumstances that Mu Lin and the others entered the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

However, after entering the tower, he did not immediately teleport Mu Lin and the others inside.

Standing out, he hovered in mid-air and began addressing Mu Lin and the others.

‘No matter which world it is, leaders always have to say a few words at gatherings.’

The scene before him felt familiar and evoked a sense of nostalgia in Mu Lin.

Fortunately, this was ultimately a world of the extraordinary, and the Headmaster’s time was precious. As such, he did not deliver a lengthy speech. After offering a few words of encouragement and speaking some platitudes about cooperation being more important than competition, he shifted the topic to the assessment.

What raised Mu Lin’s eyebrows was that the assessment at Jade Lake Dao Academy was not a single decisive event.

“This assessment follows a points-based system. You will enter a city filled with countless demons and monsters, where an anomaly resurgence is underway. Your task is to kill Evil Spirits, subdue demons, and eliminate monsters within the city.”

“For every Evil Spirit killed, points will be awarded. The top ten teams with the highest points will receive rewards from the Dao Palace.”

“One more thing to remember: the difficulty of this assessment is set at the ‘ferocious’ level. Therefore, at the end of the assessment, an Evil Spirit at the level of Condensing Gang and Refining Sha will appear. Before its emergence, there will also be numerous Evil Spirits at the Spirit Sea and Spirit Pool levels causing chaos.”

“Thus, after entering the city, you will not be the ones with the advantage, able to slaughter freely. Instead, the Demonic Fiends will hold the upper hand.”

“Such an assessment is designed to test your survival skills, for only by staying alive can one have a future…”

It must be said that the Tower of Illusory Heavens is truly a divine artifact. Its existence allows the Dao Palace to freely construct complex environments for Mu Lin and the others to undergo assessments.

As a result, every assessment at Jade Lake Dao Palace is highly intricate.

In this assessment, killing Evil Spirits earns points, and simply surviving also earns points—for every day Mu Lin and the others remain alive, their points will increase.

Even rescuing the city’s residents can earn points.

This comprehensive assessment tests every aspect of Mu Lin and their abilities.

As for the assessment not being a one-time event, this is because the Evil Spirits are too powerful. Some prodigies might have bad luck and be eliminated by powerful Evil Spirits upon entering the Illusion Realm.

Although luck is part of one’s strength, this is ultimately an assessment for selecting talent, not actual combat.

To ensure everyone’s abilities are fully demonstrated, Jade Lake Dao Palace specifically gave Mu Lin and the others a chance—the assessment would have a second round. Of course, the difficulty of the second round would be the same, but the scenario would differ, preventing Mu Lin and the others from relying on memorization to pass.

The Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy explained the assessment methods in great detail. Fortunately, Qi Refiners generally possess extraordinary memory, allowing them to easily retain the information.

After finishing the above, the Headmaster did not step down but continued with other matters.

Seeing this, all the Disciples, including Mu Lin, were not only unbothered but instead looked on with eager anticipation.

It was no wonder they felt this way, as what the Headmaster was about to discuss next was truly captivating.

Since it was a competition and assessment, there would naturally be rewards.

The Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy was about to announce precisely that.

What made Mu Lin marvel was the sheer wealth and generosity of Jade Lake Dao Academy. Even the reward for tenth place amounted to several thousand Spirit Stones.

Naturally, the higher the ranking, the greater the rewards from the Dao Palace.

Confident in his abilities, Mu Lin skipped over the rewards for fourth and fifth place entirely, immediately turning his attention to the top three.

Third place: Free use of all Dao Academy facilities, all members of the team may visit the Jade Lake Dao Academy Scripture Repository Pavilion to select one Earth Grade Supreme Mystical Art, five thousand Spirit Stones, and one high-grade Magical Artifact.

Second place: Same Dao Academy facilities and Earth Grade Supreme Spell, but the Spirit Stones increased to eight thousand, the Magical Artifact upgraded from high-grade to supreme-grade, and an additional portion of Baleful Qi was included.

First place: In addition to free use of all Dao Academy facilities, most other rewards were upgraded or altered. For instance, the Spell selection was elevated from Earth Grade Supreme to Heaven Grade, Spirit Stones increased to ten thousand, the Magical Artifact became a Mystic Treasure embryo, and on top of that, Gang and Sha Qi, a house built in Jade Province, and the right to make one request to the Dao Palace were included.

“So high… The gap between first and second place is enormous… But that makes sense. Second place is second because they could only reach that rank, while first place is limited only by the fact that the ranking stops at first.”

The immense rewards ignited a flicker of desire in Mu Lin for the top spot.

And Mu Lin was not the only one whose eyes burned with ambition. The other Disciples were also dazzled by the rewards, rubbing their hands and eager to give it their all.

Sensing this, the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy nodded in satisfaction.

“Now, I declare the assessment officially begins!”

“Hum!”

As soon as he spoke, a wave of Mana fluctuations suddenly emanated from the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

Amidst the intense Mana fluctuations, instantly, all the Disciples preparing for the assessment felt their vision go dark and their heads spin. By the time they opened their eyes again, they had been transported from inside the Tower of Illusory Heavens to an unknown Illusion Realm.

Mu Lin was no exception. The moment he arrived in the Illusion Realm, the first thing he sensed was… danger!

“Boom…”

“Help…”

“It hurts, wuwuwu…”

“Kill…”

Without any time to react, the moment he entered the Illusion Realm, Mu Lin heard the sounds of humans battling Demons and Monsters, the desperate cries and pleas of ordinary people, along with the crackling of burning and collapsing houses and the sinister laughter of Demonic Fiends…

All these noises created a cacophony in his ears.

The burning and collapsing buildings, the thick smoke filling the sky, and the bloodstains and corpses scattered everywhere made Mu Lin feel as if he had arrived in an apocalyptic world.

Not only was the environment dire, but Mu Lin’s own situation was far from ideal.

Upon landing, he found himself in the courtyard of a wealthy household. That alone wasn’t the issue; the problem was that the mansion had just been breached by Evil Spirits and demonic monsters, and nearly everyone inside had been slaughtered.

In such circumstances, Mu Lin, having landed there, unsurprisingly drew the attention of Evil Aberrations, Demons and Monsters.

“This luck is rather unfortunate.”

“Fortunately, we’re not the only ones with bad luck.”

Thinking this, Mu Lin looked to his left and right.

Whether by good luck or bad, other teams had also landed around Mu Lin.

These teams were the Merfolk Clan and the Demon Fox Clan, yet both groups looked at Mu Lin with far from friendly gazes.

(End of Chapter)